In advertising, it's the transition from managing the client to
managing the business.
In construction, it's the transition from managing the project to
managing the business.
In professional services firms it's the transition from delivering client services to
advancing the business by revenue generation.
In your company, it is likely the transition from managing managers to
running a business.

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Topics:
Talent Development,
Leadership,
Career,
IWiN,
CEO Advice
January is National Mentoring Month (#NaMeMo) in the United States, and while the month originally focused on mentoring youth, it has now grown to include all forms of mentoring. For us at Leading Women, our research has found that mentoring women is not only good for the women being mentored, but other women in the pipeline and their company's bottom line.

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Topics:
The Missing 33%,
Leadership,
Career,
Mentoring

Recently, a podcast host asked me if I’d be interested in doing an interview on gender differences in leadership styles. More specifically, the host wanted me to chat about how women are much more inclusive leaders than men. On the surface, this seems like a positive development for women, and something that’s worth crowing about. It’s also got a lot of traction: viewing women as more inclusive leaders seems like something that will finally get them into the C-suite en masse, no?
I declined.
No matter how positive it might seem on the surface to point out the “innate” characteristics of female leaders, it never leads to the kind of change we want. Read on to learn about the sinister side of gender essentialism, and how defining women leaders differently doesn’t serve them.
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Topics:
Closing the Gender Gap,
Gender Dynamics,
Leadership
There are many things that women haven't been told about leadership from career-start to the corporate boardroom. I wrote an entire book about them, but there are 9 fundamental things about leadership that women haven't been told and need to know. They are these.
Leadership is simple, but it's not easy. It's simple if you have a definition of leadership that is useful and prescriptive. This is the first of 9 things that every woman should know about leadership:
1. "Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others." This definition is one you can use to make plans at the start of each day or evaluate actions at the end of each day. Acts of leadership involve standing on the foundation of personal greatness, focusing on achieving key outcomes and engaging others in achieving those outcomes.

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Topics:
Talent Development,
Closing the Gender Gap,
The Missing 33%,
Leadership,
Career,
Breakthrough Leadership
To prepare my presentation for the National Association of Women Lawyers General Counsel Institute, I interviewed GCs, CEOs and directors on corporate boards asking the question: "What are the most important selection and success criteria for General Counsels?"
In all but one case the very first words out of their mouths emphasized the importance of being seen as a "partner in the business;" 50 percent answered with comments such as:
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Topics:
The Missing 33%,
Leadership,
Career
"Acquaintances... represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have, the more powerful you are."
Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point
"Leaders who are good networkers... are the connectors...
They master what sociologist Mark Granovetter calls the 'weak tie',
a friendly yet casual social connection."
Robin Gerber in Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way
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Topics:
The Missing 33%,
Leadership,
Career,
Networking,
Strategic Relationships
The theme for International Women's Day 2017 is #BeBoldForChange. In preparation for a week of related events in Australia, I checked to see what Google could tell us about "bold women".

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Topics:
Leadership,
Breakthrough Leadership,
Women's Leadership Development
In the U.S. January is national mentoring month. While the month focuses on mentoring youth, we want to focus on mentoring women at levels from emerging to senior. There are two major reasons.

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Topics:
The Missing 33%,
Leadership,
Career,
Mentoring